A couple posts I ran across last week underline general concerns with using Android phones.
To be clear, I’m still in love with Android and my EVO, but these are real issues that non-technical people (or those with a low tolerance for tinkering) may find off-putting or worse.
louisgray.com: As Froyo 2.2 Looms for Evo, HTC Sense Is a Concern
Louis’ (@louisgray) point about the carrier layer above Android is one made frequently and is the flipside of the carrier/hardware choice coin.
It’s worth noting that Sprint has pushed the 2.2 OTA to all EVOs. I haven’t taken it yet though because I want to root my device, and that hasn’t yet been released for the EVO running 2.2.
More Thoughts on My Samsung Galaxy S Android Phone vs. the iPhone
Thomas provides a detailed review, and the piece that stuck out for me is the process for connecting your phone to a computer, which is: a) difficult compared to the iPhone and b) slightly different between carriers.
One sweet 2.2 feature I remember Google announcing at IO is that if you have a Google account, your Android data (apps, photos, etc.) will be stored in the cloud, allowing for a seamless move between Android phones.
I also suspect there are ways to use Picasa to avoid the connection issue Thomas faced.
Anyway, add your thoughts in comments.
Update: I forgot to mention a pet peeve I have with Android hardware, i.e. the physical button bars are different between hardware manufacturers. Motorola has actual, tacile buttons, whereas HTC does not, and the order of the buttons is different. On HTC, it’s home, menu, back, search. On the Droid, it’s back, menu, home, search.
Why can’t they agree on a convention?
Twitter Comment
Android Considerations [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
“Why can’t they agree on a convention?”
Firstly because some people may prefer it one way, and others another. I'd prefer a full, tactile QWERTY keyboard. But someone else wants a more physically compact device. A major selling point of Android is that you can choose the hardware that you want.
Anyway a convention would end up like the Martian headphones described by Spolsky. Someone would invent a fifth button and then they'd all disagree where to put it, what size it would be and what actually happens when you press it.
I know the major selling points of Android 🙂 I'm a believer. Just saying that when the device has 4 buttons with the same OS functions, it makes sense to have them in the same order.
Assuming carriers want me to switch, which they do. It's a minor annoyance to move from one convention to another, e.g. from Droid to EVO, if the buttons are in a different order.
But, I can't definitely see issues with making the change (manufacturing specifically), it's an annoyance. I'm shaking my fist at the ocean.